A Repentant City and a Merciful God The Book of JONAH Part Four: A Repentant City and a Merciful God

JONAH 3:1-2 1And the Word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2”Arise! Go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out to it the message that I will speak to you.”

Jonah Released by the Fish painting by Jan Brueghel the Elder 1887

Jonah Released by the Fish stained glass window in Gouda, Netherlands by Dirk Crabeth 1565

I. INTRODUCTION After delivering Jonah from the belly of the fish, the Lord repeats his assignment.

II. New Opportunity for Obedience (3:1-2) A. Verse 1, God speaks again. As soon as the great fish vomits Jonah onto the dry land, the Lord speaks to him a second time. B. Verse 2, Jonah’s assignment is repeated. The command is altered just a bit, enough that we might wonder the about the reasons for the changes.

II. New Opportunity for Obedience (3:1-2) C. As a prophet of God, Jonah does not have the option of choosing the message or changing the message. D. Without a word of response to the Lord, Jonah rises up and travels to Nineveh where he proclaims a message of impending doom.

JONAH 3:3-4 3And Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the Word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three day journey across. 4And Jonah began to enter into the city, a day’s journey; and he said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be turned over.”

III. The Short Sermon (3:3-4) A. Verse 3, Jonah goes to Nineveh. Like before, Jonah does not speak to God; he only acts. Therefore, we have no indication of his attitude towards his assignment. B. The words, “exceedingly great city” carry a double meaning. The phrase could just as well be translated “a great city belonging to God.” C. The Jews considered Jerusalem to be the “city of God,” but they also proclaimed that “The earth belongs to the Lord and all that fills it, the world and all who dwell in it” (Ps. 24:1; 50:12; 89:11).

III. The Short Sermon (3:3-4) D. Verse 4, Jonah preaches. It is surprising that Jonah does not use the standard prophetic messenger formula, “Thus says the Lord”. The message of Jonah could be translated, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will turn around,” or even “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be converted”!

Jonah preaching, by Gustave Dore (d. 1883)

JONAH 3:5-7 5And the Ninevites believed God, and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them to the least of them. 6And the matter reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne and removed his robes from on him, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. 7And he sent out a call and said in Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles, neither humans nor animals, herd nor flock shall taste anything. They shall not feed nor drink water.

JONAH 3:8-9 8And let them cover themselves with sackcloth, humans and animals, and let them cry mightily to God, and let them turn, each one from his evil way and from the violence that is in their hands. 9Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his burning anger and we will not be destroyed.”

IV. The Amazing Turn (3:5-9) A. Verse 5, Nineveh repents. After only one day, the entire city of Nineveh believes God and repents of their wickedness. B. Jonah’s preaching generates a three-fold response from the people of Nineveh. C. Verse 6, The king of Nineveh repents. When word of the events reaches the king of Nineveh, he lays aside his robes and sits in sackcloth and ashes. D. Verse 7, The king proclaims a fast. The decree of the king lends authority and legitimacy to the revival.

IV. The Amazing Turn (3:5-9) E. Verse 8, Violence is confessed. The king orders the people to “cry mightily” to God and to “turn” from their evil and violence. F. In his initial call to Jonah, the Lord had characterized Nineveh as an evil city, but now the king’s decree describes the sin of Nineveh with a more specific term— violence.

IV. The Amazing Turn (3:5-9) G. The king’s edict of repentance applies to the Ninevites and to the Israelites and to us. H. Verse 9, The king hopes for mercy. The repentance of the Ninevites is aimed at moving God to pity so that he will change his mind and not destroy the city.

JONAH 3:10 10And God saw their actions, that they turned from their evil way. And God regretted the evil that he said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

V. The God of Grace (3:10) A. Verse 10, The Lord repents. The repentance of Nineveh makes a deep impression upon the Lord. B. While Nineveh was not “turned over” to destructive forces, it was “turned over” in its attitudes and commitments. The Lord is free to express his anger toward human wickedness, but he is also free to change his anger to mercy.

VI. CONCLUSION We must believe that even the most wicked and depraved people can be redeemed by the grace of God.

NEXT LESSON: Jonah and the God of Grace JONAH, in the Sistine Chapel, Rome by Michelangelo 1508-1512

The Book of JONAH By Lee Roy Martin Copyright © 2008 by Lee Roy Martin All rights reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced or translated in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, microfiche, electronic database, internet database, or any other means without written permission from Lee Roy Martin.